Nos vamos pa la feria.  Memories of my past life.

Feria Posters 2018

Carteles de Feria 2018

I will be adding more as they become available. Schedule of Feria is located on the right margin of the home page.

Seville

Rota

El Puerto de Santa Maria

Jerez de la Frontera

For Jerez Feria Program click here

Cordoba

Granada

Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Puerto Real

Chiclana de la Frontera

San Fernando

Tips for surviving Feria Season

Feria at night

Feria is a feast for the eyes.  It is an explosion of colors, spring flowers, elegant horses, and beautiful dresses. The rainy season and somber Holy Week are over, and the days turn warm with cool nights. This is a great combination for fiesta.  The south of  Spain celebrates spring with 3 or 4 days, even one week long festival, called Feria. A marathon of dancing, eating and drinking, so like any marathons, you must prepare for it. Here are some tips to prepare for Feria. You will be glad you did.

Got to fit in one of these by April!

Before Feria:

1- Diet. Lets face it, winter was boring and we ate lots of Christmas sweets, all the way to January 6th! Yes you know turrones, polvorones, roscas de reyes, chocolates and all that sweet wine. If you are not buying a dress this season, then you should try on last years dress, some time in February. Probably a bit tight, huh? And Some of us, like to eat the Holy Week treats too, the Torrijas dipped in honey, and the oh so sweet, saints bones. OK, so at least two months before Feria, some time around February, you must start exercising and eating right, because Feria begins as early as the end of April. Do this, and you will still have time to shed those extra pounds and fit in your dress.

2 - Learn to dance. Take sevillana lessons. Don’t want to discourage you, but it takes about three to four months to get the moves, so I recommend an early start. It will also help you shed those unwanted pounds and you will build stamina for the real thing. Bottom line, you will really enjoy Feria.

Learn how to dance. A must to fully enjoy feria

3- Follow SIMOF. Feria is fashionable and there are trends, so follow the fashion shows in late January, early February, We Love Flamenco and SIMOF or Salon Internacional de la MOda Flamenca, are two of the most famous catwalks. Here you will find all the new trends and styles you are looking for in a new Feria dress.

4- Buy a dress soon, or update your current dress. The seamstresses have tons of dresses to make and fix. Sometimes they can take up to a month to fix your dress, so take it early. Let me underline that feria dresses are supposed to be tight, no buts, no excuses, a tight dress is better, it is the style and it actually distributes the weight of the dress all over your body and not just carry it on your shoulders.  So fit it like a glove.

5- Buy accessories. Now that you know the color of your dress, buy flowers, combs, earrings, necklaces, pins and shawl, mantoncillo, to wear with your new dress. I buy extra earrings and flowers, just in case I loose them while dancing.

You can match all your accessories or go wild.
The possibilities are endless

6 - Shoes, consider what shoes you are going to wear with your dress. Shoes should be comfortable, but should also complete the look. Please no flip-flops, sneakers or crocks! Yes, unfortunately I’ve seen them in Feria. I have also seen sky high heels, impossible to walk with, but hey, she looks great. My feet hurt  most of the time (I guess I'm not 20 anymore), but I still want to look descent, so I save my old flamenco shoes and wear those. Sandals and opened toe shoes are not recommended, most Feria grounds have dirt floors, and the sand will act as sandpaper on your feet, just a warning.

7- Think about your hair, it is traditional to wear it up, in a low bun, so practice, practice, practice. If wearing a peineta (comb), practice where you will place it and how you will wear your flower(s). Buy lots of hair pins. Once again, check SIMOF internet images for hair styles and flower placement. 

8 -Practice your make-up, those cat eyes take a little practice, as well as fake eyelashes, if you wear them.

Don't leave home without makeup! This was the last day of feria, 
I was too tired to dress for the occasion. Then I ran into these beauties!
I should at least have used eye liner! :-(

8- Prepare for allergies. If you have mild asthma or seasonal allergies, prepare in advanced your medicines and treatment. You will be glad you did. Feria has horses, lots of dirt and dust, and it is springtime, there is pollen everywhere!
Prepare your camera. You will take tons of photos, make sure you have tons of memory, battery life, flash, etc.

9- Get a manicure. Well groomed hands are important, even if you don't wear polish.

10- Invite friends, go to feria together, it is more fun this way.

So many photo opportunities for you
 and your friends. don't forget your camera
 or you will regret it. 

Everything is more fun when you dance

During Feria:

1- Become familiar with your surroundings. Many ferias have maps of the grounds and the name and location of the “casetas” or tents. That way if someone tells you to meet at such and such caseta, you know where it is. Also it is a good idea to locate the restrooms in advanced. Now with smart phones there are apps where you can download the feria maps and daily events related to Feria.

2- Get a poster, if you haven’t already, some info booths give you a free poster of feria. However you have to carry it around. You can also get it at the tourism office usually downtown.

3- Walk around feria, it is all about seeing and being seen. Check out the casetas with the best music, or the best food and prices.

4- Feria for Children, if you have children, take them to the rides. The call it the street of Hell, you’ll find out why soon enough. I used to take my kids to the bumper cars and fish the duck, which always included a price. Then with price in hand, I returned to the adult side of feria.

5- Make a “vaquita”, a kitty/purse with your friends, you spend less money this way. People put in the vaquita, say €20 a person and someone administers the Feria fund for drinks and food. When it runs out, you add more money.

6- Stay hydrated. Drink as much water as you can. You won’t believe the amount of dirt floating in the air and into your mouth. Drink responsibly, the drink of choice in feria is Rebujito which is fino or manzanilla wine, with lemon soda and with lots of ice. It is cheaper by the pitcher and reduces the alcohol concentration. 

Oh my! Look at this dress.

Rota with friends

Friends at El Puerto de Santa Maria Feria

7- Use public transportation. You will finds lots of taxis and buses at designated areas of your town specifically for feria. It is a treat to sit in a bus full of ladies all dressed in feria dresses. Transportation is usually not a problem, except when everyone decides to leave feria at once, then you will have very long lines for cabs and buses.

Take the bus, don't worry about parking or drinking.

Holy Week - Semana Santa

Holy Week in the Village of Rota

Semana Santa in Jerez

Right around February, in the town of El Puerto de Santa Maria, and then in other neighboring towns, I saw a few young men working out with cement sacks, they were wearing what looked like towels on their heads.  The sacks were on their shoulders, other sacks were over their heads, some men were also pulling a cart with more cement sacks. They were everywhere! I was walking back home after dinner one night, and there they were. Night after night, I saw the same thing. Then I forgot all about it, and Semana Santa arrived.  I remembered the men with the cement sacks, they were preparing for Holy Week.

Getting in shape for the real thing

As you probably know, Semana Santa, it is a week long festivity full of beautifully orchestrated marches recreating the Passion of Christ, with life size statues of Christ and the Virgin. Even if you are not Christian, it is a sight to see.

The first procession of the week is "La Borriquita" just for children
on Palm Sunday, El Puerto de Santa Maria

All the participants are dressed in colorful long robes, on their heads, pointy hoods with covered faces.  Each color, represent different brotherhoods, and each one is in charge of one stage in the Passion of Christ.  Most members have belonged to their brotherhoods for generations, passed down from father to son. 

Girls waiting for the procession.

Future Nazareno. Adorable.

Some processions take place during the day, while others are out marching all night. People from all over Spain travel to Andalusia to see them. The most famous ones are in the big cities like Seville, Granada, Málaga, Córdoba.  Hotels with the best views and balconies are booked months in advanced. The streets get really crowded, but if you don't want to leave the comfort of your home, the local television has enough TV coverage for folks that don't want to miss one single detail. Some narrators will walk you through the entire procession, as if it were a soccer match. 

Hermandad del Olivo, with their electric blue hoods.
One of the biggest in El Puerto de Santa Maria

The majority of towns and villages have processions too, just in a smaller scale. I have visited the ones in Rota, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Sevilla and Jerez de la Frontera. They are all unique and beautiful.

Hermandad del Olivo, El Puerto de Santa Maria

In order to understand a little about what the locals say about Semana Santa, here is a basic vocabulary (by no means official, this is my interpretation):

Nazarenos: are the brothers that walk side by side and keep the procession company. They carry candles, sticks, canes, flags and other religious symbols

Cofradías: it is the organization that organizes all the different brotherhoods and their processions, and everything related to it.

Paso: In some places it's also called throne, and it is the ornamented base in which the sacred images are carried and transported throughout the procession.

Costaleros: are the men that carry the Paso during the procession. In many cases you cannot even see them, just their feet under the Paso, like a giant centipede. In Málaga, for example, the Paso is huge, with long beams supporting the throne, and the costaleros, sometimes up to 250 men carry the Trono, and are quite visible.

Mantilla: it is the black veil and black outfit fitted with a large comb that symbolizes morning, which women wear while accompanying the Paso. Malaga province has one of the biggest assembly of Mantillas in Andalusia.

Peineta or Teja: large comb that is placed at the back of a woman's head and supports and displays the mantilla.

Capirote: the conical shaped hat, that was used to ridicule offenders or the church, but now represents penance for sins committed.

Cirio: large Candle. 

Recorrido oficial: the official route, with time, days and streets. This is really well coordinated and they stick to the schedule, because if they don't, other processions are delayed, and late one's may even my get fined. If you know the official route, you can choose where you want to see the procession.

Costalero with head dress in Rota

Cristo de la Expiración in Jerez, has a unique dress code, black velvet.

During my first procession here in Andalusia, I could not stop taking pictures, I don’t know what was more interesting, the swaying of the Virgin covered in flowers and golden robe, or the dozens of feet underneath the statue’s Paso, moving in unison like a giant centipede. Wherever you look and turn, there is something wonderful to photograph and experience, so keep your eyes open.

Under the Paso, a Human Centipede

The band, is professional and the best get hired
by many towns to play during the processions.

At the front and following the procession, are the bands.  They play typical Semana Santa music, with drums and trumpet in a steady beat to keep the feet below in perfect sync. With a swish, swash, swish, swash, the Virgin and Christ move along. There are rest intervals, the music stops, the feet stop, the Virgin and Christ are lowered, this is an excellent time to take pictures. The costaleros under the float change places with others that are well rested.  The Nazarenos (with robes), and men in suits following the procession, all wear their brotherhood's medals with colorful cords.  Many Nazarenos also carry Cirios (candles) as tall as them. Children approach them, they want some of the wax that drips off the candles. The children bring balls made out of aluminum foil, they reach up to the candles to catch the drippings, and slowly the melted wax covers the ball.  By the time Holy Week is over, children have accumulated huge wax balls with different colored wax.

by the end of the week, children have a huge wax ball
 made of different colors, depending on how many processions they have watched.

As a tourist, it is better to check at the tourism office for the official route of the procession, maybe even get a souvenir poster. Many bars and tobacco stands carry little flyers with the week’s processions schedule, it lists the date and time of processions, but ultimately the weather is the one that dictates if the procession parades the town or not. You see, the Virgin’s dress is sewn with precious metals and stones, and a drop of water can ruin the dress forever. If the weather doesn't cooperate, television crew and people in the background begin asking “¿Sale o no sale la Macarena?", “Will the Virgin go out today or not?” It hardly rains in Andalusia, but it is spring and the beginning of rainy season, so the possibility of canceling is high. If it happens, all the preparation and weeks of hard work put into it, go to waist, and it is very sad day for the brotherhood and it's followers.

Window decoration in Jerez with miniature procession

Window shopping during Holy Week is interesting; you’ll see that almost all the stores, have their windows decorated with miniature versions of their favorite procession. Some souvenir stores will sell you little hooded men with the brotherhood colors. School children in art class, will make little procession scenes out a tissue boxes to take home.

Specialized stores where you can order your "Capirote" to size.

My favorite night however, was in Jerez de la Frontera, south of Seville, where lots of great Gypsy artists and their families live. "Cristo del Prendimiento" is one the Gypsies favorite procession. It takes place at the church located in the gypsy quarter's of Santiago. “El Prendimiento” or just simply "El Prendi", it is the stage in which Christ is apprehended.  The procession lasts almost all night, and since Jerez is the birthplace of great singers, many want to honor their Christ with a song called Saeta.

El "Prendi"on Wednesday, in Jerez

This image of Christ in "el Prendi", has chains around his arms and legs, and looks in pain. The Saeta songs, are painful prayers offered by singers and by some people that, spontaneously, are moved to sing during the procession's rest, but mostly Saeta songs are heard at designated balconies. Saetas are very hard to sing because they are sung at cappella, and require great talent to sing them. Folks around here have singing competitions which require months of rehearsing. It is hard to explain what one feels, you have to be there, it will give you goose bumps. The most famous cantaores (singers) wait in a decorated balcony in town, with television cameras waiting to record the performance, so later everyone can relive.

Balcony view, everything is ready for the singer and his/her "Saeta".
San Miguel neighborhood. 

Saeta: 

Saeta video

Good Thursday and Friday of Holy Week, are the most serious days.  Folks dress in dark colors, and men wear suits and ties. Now the procession turns into a funeral, one should be respectful. Some women following the procession choose to wear mantilla and peineta.  Until "Jueves Santo", Holy Thursday, these women dress in black and on their heads the mantilla and comb, but allow some of the hair to show, likes bangs, for example, but if it is Good Friday, all the hair should be covered by the mantilla.  There is a proper way to wear a mantilla, impossible to do it alone, and it's better to leave it to an expert or hair dresser to adjust the mantilla in the proper form.  And hardly ever used today, during Resurrection/Easter, women would wear a white or ivory mantilla.

Not as common as a feria dress,
but some women like to wear a "mantilla" during the procession

Painting of Raquel de Meller wearing
 mantilla and peineta
by Julio Torres

Semana Santa lovers, follow the processions as long as it takes, many watch until the last moment in which the sacred image enters the temple.  One thing that really surprised me, was the "bowing" of the Virgin.  In the following video in the town of El Puerto de Santa Maria, the Virgin is turned around and "bows" to the crowd (runs quickly outside and then back in) and everybody claps. 

Virgins thanks the public -Video

Times have changed,  there could be
 a woman under the hood and tunic

Jerez de la Frontera's Cathedral 

"Erizá" The Festival of Sea Urchins in Cadiz

Every January, as soon as the New Year, and 3 Kings celebration is over, the city of Cadiz invites everyone to try a very interesting dish, straight from the waters of Cadiz, raw sea urchin! ... and it is delicious. According to the folks around here, it tastes like "You are biting into a wave" told me someone at the Sea Urchin Festival.  Ok, maybe the first time is not so delicious, but it is not terrible either.  

I don't think they left any urchins in the ocean!

Every year the city (Barrio de la Viña) provides tons of free sea urchins (close to 800 pounds) and a glass of sherry wine to wash it down, but you have to stand in long lines if you want to sample it for free.  Or you can go to any corner of the historical downtown, and vendors will have mountains of sea urchins for sale by the dozen, no waiting and hardly any lines.

There are also other products from the sea for sale, if you don't eat urchins.

I always wondered how to cut this spiny creature.

The colors are amazing.

Look at the size of this oyster!

On another part of town (Plaza San Antonio), folks are also having an Oyster festival, actually is "Ostión" which is larger than an oyster and stronger in flavor.  Same deal applies to the oysters, long lines, one per person, and a glass of sherry.  Close to 1200 pounds of large oysters, almost 600 pounds of baked peppers,  2.500 liters of Cruzcampo beer, and 1.000 liters of manzanilla Soleá are distributed.   And if you are really hungry, just like with the sea urchins, better walk around the corner and buy a dozen oysters or two, plus a drink.  

Besides the huge amounts of raw seafood, there is also music, bands playing in the plaza, and the very typical carnival groups trying out their new songs and satire about politicians, or some current event. Loads of fun and great photo opportunities.

Don't forget:
Both Festivals are on January 11, 2015.  
time: 13:00 until dusk
Food and music around town.  See you at the festival, and remember to dress warm.

Three Kings cake, for the nice, and a Lump of coal for the naughty

Delicious ring filled with cream from a Sevilla bakery

For the naughty ones, a lump of coal, but not so bad, it is sweet coal.
Find it in the stores labeled: Carbon de Reyes.

The 3 Wise Men, or "Los Tres Reyes Magos" parade is celebrated on the 5th of January with floats, music and candy.  The eve of the 3 Kings arrival, is celebrated by all, outdoors, watching the floats with important town personalities representing the Three Wise Men.  This marks the end of Christmas.  On the morning of the 6th, children open the gifts brought by the Wise Men, and later that evening at coffee time, people feast on this delicious bread/brioche filled with cream and with a tiny surprise inside.   It is traditional to hide a lima bean inside the bread, and whoever gets it in their slice, has to pay the brioche.  This tradition is ancient, scholars say it may date back to the 14th century.  

The "Roscón de Reyes" (Spain), was also brought to Latin America, and it is celebrated with coffee, or hot chocolate on the 6th.  In Latin America it is called "Rosca de Reyes" instead.  Other costumes also practiced on both sides of the ocean, are to place a small figure of baby Jesus, or the Virgin, or even a coin inside in the bread before baking.  In my home, whoever got the price, had to host the party next January 6th.

By the way, after the 6th is when most people jump into the diet bandwagon.
Not before, who would miss this?

A very common site this days, all the bakery windows have their displays full of these sweet breads covered with sugar and candied fruit.  Even the grocery stores carry "Roscón de Reyes" for our convenience.  So that means, no one (at least the people that I know) make this bread.  Are you crazy? This is the hype of last minute Christmas shopping around here.  People are busy, so just buy it and relax.   Now, if you don't happen to be in this little corner of heaven, I am posting a link to a mexican recipe in English, or just search in the internet for another recipe.  Either way hope it turns out great.  Happy "Dia de Reyes", hope you don't get "carbón" (coal).

Mmm, delicious.